(Posted May 27, 2000)

USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of swimming in this country, has recently published its national top sixteen lists for the 1999 long course season. This is obviously an incredible accomplishment to be among the fastest sixteen swimmers or relay teams in the country. The Dallas Mustangs once again showed their strength and depth by placing many relays on the list. Congratulations to the following swimmers:

15-16 Girls 800 Meter Free Relay – 3rd in the nation

Sarah Alwen, Debbie Forinash, Megan McNamara, Sarah Wells

15-16 Girls 200 Meter Medley Relay – 6th in the nation

Sarah Alwen, Debbie Forinash, Leslie McCormick, Sarah Wells

17-18 Girls 200 Meter Medley Relay – 6th in the nation

Claire Williams, Katherine Collier, Amy Danchik, Emily Frasco

15-16 Girls 800 Yard Free Relay – 15th in the nation

Megan McNamara, Courtney Patterson, Debbie Forinash, Sarah Wells

17-18 Boys 200 Meter Free Relay – 4th in the nation

Rory Peterson, Warren Renick, Thomas Ayers, Brian Stephens

17-18 Boys 800 Meter Free Relay – 8th in the nation

Rory Peterson, Thomas Ayers, Warren Renick, Brian Stephens

17-18 Boys 400 Meter Free Relay – 12th in the nation

Rory Peterson, Warren Renick, Brian Stephens, Thomas Ayers

This year’s long course season started off with many strong performances from the Mustang swimmers. It’s always a good sign of things to come when we have so many fast swims this early in the season. The following is a re-cap of the top performances (point scorers) in those meets:

A/BB Sprint Meet (1st place overall team)

Lauren Roth (3rd-50 Fr, 4th-50 Bk, 6th-50 Br, 3rd-50 Fl), Hayley Hatfield (6th-50 Fr, 6th-50 Bk), Meredith Higgins (8th-50 Bk), Kristen Masters (4th-50 Br), Spin Beck (7th 50 Br), Ashley Rape (7th-50 Fl), Alexandra Jennings (3rd-50 Bk), Candace Blackman (1st-50 Fr, 2nd-50 Bk, 2nd-50 Br, 1st-50 Fl), Jennifer Blackman (2nd-50 Fr, 1st-50 Bk, 4th-50 Br, 2nd-50 Fl), Caroline Jennings (3rd-50 Fr, 3rd-50 Bk, 1st-50 Br, 3rd-50 Fl), Jennifer Penley (4th-50 Fr, 6th-50 Bk, 7th-50 Br, 7th-50 Fly), Beth Geis (5th-50 Fr, 4th-50 Fl), Erika Saito (6th-50 Fr, 6th-50 Fl), Jessica Shaw (7th-50 Bk, 6th-50 Br), Kate Gunning (8th-50 Bk), Maggie Marshall (5th-50 Br), Sarah Wells (6th-50 Fr, 6th-50 Bk, 4th-50 Br, 5th-50 Fl), Laura McGarrah (7th-50 Fr, 4th-50 Fl), Beverly Yee (7th-50 Bk, 8th-50 Fl), Meagan Bolanz (5th-50 Br), John Bannon (2nd-50 Fr, 3rd-50 Bk, 4th-50 Br, 2nd-50 Fl), Caleb Veazey (4th-50 Fr, 8th-50 Bk, 7th-50 Br, 4th-50 Fl), Matt Knubowitz (3rd-50 Fr, 1st-50 Bk, 1st-50 Br), Eric Gusa (1st-50 Fr, 1st-50 Bk, 1st-50 Fl), Brian Stephens (2nd-50 Fr, 4th-50 Bk, 1st-50 Br, 2nd-50 Fl), Jeff Girard (4th-50 Fr, 7th-50 Bk, 3rd-50 Br), Kenneth Wherry (7th-50 Fr, 8th-50 Bk, 6th-50 Br, 4th-50 Fl), Dennis Bowsher (4th-50 Br).

14 & under DM Swim Classic A/BB (3RD place overall team)

Lauren Roth (4th-50 Fr, 3rd-100 Fr, 4th-200 Fr, 6th-100 Bk, 4th-50 Fl, 3rd-100 Fl, 4th-200 IM), Spin Beck (8th-50 Fr, 2nd-100 FrBB, 1st-50 BrBB, 8th-100 Br, 7th-200 IM), Kelsey Hendricks (7th-100 Fr, 5th-50 BrBB), Emma Gunning (6th-100 FrBB), Maggie Wackle (3rd-50 BkBB), Meredith Higgins (8th-50 Fr, 7th-100 Bk, 4th-200 IM), Ashley Rape (8th-50 Bk, 5th-100 Bk, 8th-50 Fl, 2nd-100 FlBB), Kristen Masters (2nd-50 BrBB, 5th-100 Br, 6th-200 IM), Meredith Grubb (2nd-50 Fr, 7th-100 Fr, 8th-200 IM), Megan Daniel (5th-50 FrBB, 3rd-50 BrBB, 3rd-100 BrBB), Meredith Monroe (4th-50 BkBB, 4th-50 FlBB), Claire Butterworth (7th-50 BrBB), Candice Blackman (1st-50 Fr, 1st-100 Fr, 1st-200 Fr, 1st-400 Fr, 1st-100 Fl, 1st-200 Fl, 2nd-200 IM), Jennifer Blackman (2nd-50 Fr, 2nd-100 Fr, 2nd-400 Fr, 1st-100 Bk, 3rd-200 Bk, 2nd-100 Fl, 3rd-200 IM), Caroline Jennings (4th-50 Fr, 4th-100 Fr, 5th-200 Fr, 4th-400 Fr, 3rd-100 Bk, 4th-100 Br, 5th-200 Br, 4th-400 IM), Jennifer Penley ( 6th-50 Fr7th-100 Fr, 7th-200 Fr, 3rd-400 FrBB, 5th-100 BrBB), Nicole Keller (6th-100 FrBB, 6th-200 FrBB, 2nd-100 FlBB, 7th-200 Fl), Erica Saito (7th-100 FrBB, 4th-50 FrBB, 3rd-100 FlBB, 3rd-200 Fl, 6th-200 IM, 2nd-400 IM), Jessica Shaw (8th-100 FrBB, 2nd-200 FrBB, 3rd-100 BkBB, 1st-100 BrBB, 3rd-200 IM), Beth Geis (8th-400 FrBB, 4th-200 FlBB), Audrey Rogers (5th-100 BkBB), Melissa Dominguez (8th-100 BrBB, 8th-200 Br), Caleb Veazey (6th-50 Fr, 8th-50 Fl, 3rd-100 Fl, 5th-200 IM), Daniel Maute (3rd-50 BrBB, 7th-100 Br), John Bannon (7th-200 FrBB), Michael Carpenter (8th-50 Br, 2nd-100 BrBB), Bryan Jester (5th-50 Fr, 6th-100 Fr, 4th-100 Bk, 3rd-200 IM), Matt Knubowitz (7th-50 Fr, 4th-100 FrBB, 3rd-100 Bk, 3rd-100 Br, 3rd-200 Br), Zak Dominguez (8th-200 FrBB, 5th-400 FrBB, 5th-200 BrBB, 7th-200 IM, 6th-400 IMBB), Matt Saunders (5th-200 BkBB, 6th-100 BrBB).

Senior FAST A Meet (2nd place overall team)

Debbie Forinash (6th-50 Fr, 7th-800 Fr, 7th-100 Br), Courtney Patterson (8th-50 Fr, 4th-100 Fr, 3rd-100 Fr, 2nd-200 Bk, 4th-100 Br, 2nd-200 IM), Sarah Wells (4th-1500 Fr), Claire Williams (5th-100 Bk), Andrew Hansen (5th-50 Fr, 8th-100 Fr, 8th-200 Fr), Armando Cajide (5th-50 Fr), Warren Renick (8th-50 Fr), Eric Guse (8th-800 Fr), Dennis Bowsher (3rd-1500 Fr, 3rd-100 Br), Mohamed El Madani (2nd-100 Bk, 4th-200 Bk, 6th-100 Fl), Brian Stephens (1st-100 Br, 1st-200 Br, 8th-200 IM), Jeff Girard (4th-100 Br, 6th-200 Br).

COPS Short Course B/C Invitational (April 8-9)

This meet falls about one week after we are back in the water, following our Mustang "Spring break." Many of the performances indicated that they might have benefited from the time off. Rest is an important piece of the perfect puzzle for performance progression. This has certainly been proved physiologically, but we believe it also benefits the swimmers (and parents?) mentally. Sixty-two of our swimmers competed in this B/C meet and placed a strong second to the host COPS team. Below is a list of the time standards achieved by our swimmers. Only the top standards achieved are listed.

AA Time Standards

Caroline Jennings (13-14 200 Back)

BB Time Standards

Callie Butterworth (9-10 50 Free, 50 Back), Emma Gunning (9-10 50 Breast, 50 Fly), Kate Gunning (13-14 100 Back, 100 Free), Alex Jennings (11-12 100 Fly), Maggie Marshall (13-14 200 Breast), Travis McDaniel (11-12 50 Free), Jessica Shaw (13-14 200 Fly).

B Time Standards

Bri Barfield (11-12 50 Free, 50 Breast, 100 Free), Latane Barnes (9-10 50 Back), Devon Bowsher (11-12 100 Free, 50 Fly), Claire Butterworth (11-12 100 Back), Cheyanne Costello (9-10 50 Free), Leah Kitchen (11-12 50 Free, 200 Free, 100 Free), Mary Elizabeth Larsen (11-12 50 Free, 50 Breast), Lauren Marley (9-10 50 Back, 50 Breast), Erin Morrison (13-14 100 Free), Alex Motovilov (9-10 50 Free, 50 Breast), Alex Pappas (9-10 50 Back, 50 Free), Cort Payne (11-12 50 Free), David Puelz (11-12 100 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast), McLean Shaw (9-10 50 Back), Elizabeth Watkins (11-12 50 Free, 50 Breast), Jeffrey Wherry (11-12 100 Back), Hao Xu (11-12 50 Free), Joyce Yee (9-10 50 Back, 50 Breast, 100 Free), Preston Yetts (11-12 100 Back).

C Time Standards

Kendall Ahnell (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast), Adreanna Alleman (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back), Abbie Allums (11-12 50 Free, 50 Breast, 200 Free, 50 Back, 100 Free, 50 Fly, 100 Breast), Courtenay Barclay (11-12 50 Free), Alexandra Barinka (9-10 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly, 100 IM), Taylor Barinka (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast), Nina Bolka (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Breast, 25 Back, 25 Fly), Mark Chesler ( 9-10 25 Free, 25 Back), Jeremy Chiang (8 & U 25 Free 25 Back, 25 Fly), Sameer Deshpande (9-10 50 Free, 50 Breast, 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly), Melissa Dominguez (13-14 100 Back, 100 Fly), Zak Dominguez (13-14 100 Back, 200 Breast, 100 Fly), Jennifer Grommesen (11-12 50 Free, 50 Breast), Stephanie Grote (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast), Jun Hirota (11-12 100 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast, 50 Back, 100 Free, 50 Fly, 100 Breast), Ashley Kitchen (9-10 50 Free, 50 Breast, 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast), Liz Lass (9-10 50 Free, 50 Breast), Will McNamara (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Breast), Katrina Miguel, (9-10 25 Free, 25 Back), Nikki Miguel (11-12 100 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast, 50 Back, 100 Free, 100 Breast), Molly Mocek (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast), Charlie Puelz (11-12 100 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast, 200 Free), MaryClaire Ramirez (9-10 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast), Dabney Rice (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly), Katy Rogers (13-14 100 Back, 50 Free, 200 Breast), Will Rogers (9-10 50 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast, 50 Fly), Simon Shirazi (11-12 100 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast), Sarah Staples (11-12 50 Free, 50 Breast), Melanie Tull (25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly), John White (9-10 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Fly, 100 IM), Michael Withers (9-10 50 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast), Robert Withers (11-12 100 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast, 200 Free).

Congratulations all!

GCAT Division A & C B/C Invitational (April 29 – 30)

Thirty-five Mustangs traveled to the GCISD Swim Center for this B/C meet held in late April. The meet ran well and we had many big drops and lifetime bests. We finished fourth overall in the division with our small group. Below is a listing of their time standards achieved. Only the highest level of achievement is listed.

BB Time Standards

Elisa Alleman (9-10 50 Free), John Bannon (11-12 200 IM), Lindsey Macintosh (11-12 50 Back), Maggie Marshall (13-14 200 Breast), Maggie Wackel (9-10 50 Back, 100 Free), Alexandra Weber (9-10 200 Free).

B Time Standards

Bri Barfield (11-12 50 Free), Derrick Brown (11-12 100 Back, 500 Free, 50 Back, 200 Free), Kent Irvin (9-10 100 Back, 50 Breast, 100 Fly), Christie Kimm (9-10 50 Back), Lauren Marley (9-10 100 Back, 50 Breast, 100 IM), Erin Morrison (13-14 50 Free),

Christopher Skrobeck (13-14 100 Free, 100 Breast), Elizabeth Watkins (11-12 50 Breast, 50 Free, 50 Back, 100 Free), Jeffrey Wherry (11-12 100 Back, 50 Breast), Joyce Yee (9-10 50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Breast, 50 Back).

C Time Standards

Adreanna Alleman ( 8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back), Althea Atkins (8 & U 50 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly), David Chiu (9-10 100 Back, 50 Breast, 100 IM, 50 Free), Jenny Gommesen (11-12 100 Back, 50 Breast, 50 Free), Stephanie Grote (8 & Under 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 100 IM), Jun Hirota (11-12 50 Back, 50 Fly, 100 Free, 100 Breast, 200 IM), Kaho Hirota (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly), Lane Lerner (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Breast, 25 Fly), Katherine Mackenzie (13-14 100 Fly, 100 Free), Will McNamara (8 & U 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly), Katrina Miguel (9-10 50 Free), Nikki Miguel (11-12 100 Back, 50 Breast, 100 IM, 50 Free), Mizuki Okada (9-10 25 Free, 25 Breast, 25 Fly), MaryClaire Ramirez (9-10 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly, 100 IM), Katy Rogers (13-14 100 Back, 50 Free), Will Rogers (9-10 50 Breast, 50 Free), Samir Saidi (25 Free, 25 Back), Joseph Santaularia (13-14 100 Free, 200 Free).

The following swimmers finished first at least once in their divisions: Elisa Alleman, Alethea Atkins, John Bannon, Derrick Brown, Jun Hirota, Kent Irvin, Lane Lerner, Lindsey MacIntosh, Maggie Marshall, Will McNamara, Christopher Skrobeck, Maggie Wackel, Alex Weber, and Jeffrey Wherry.

Go Mustangs!

Yes, it’s that time again. Quarterly dues payments are to be submitted no later than June 1st. There will be other reminders at the pools however, here is your first opportunity to attend to it now. Checks can be submitted at all pools in the appropriate box or mailed directly to the Treasurer, George Cornelius at 2113 Antibes Drive, Carrollton, TX 75006. If you have any questions regarding your swimmer’s dues or account, please contact George at 972-416-4217.

What for? Senior Circuit Meet.

When? Senior Circuit from June 3rd – 6th.

Why? Senior Circuit is a high-level competition meet and we need people to run it efficiently. It is a great meet to come out and see some of the Olympic hopefuls right in our own backyard, so to speak. So, you can help our team by volunteering AND be a spectator at a meet that promises great competition.

Please call Mook Rhodenbaugh at 214-768-1641 to volunteer!

Converting

It seems that whenever we have a change in seasons (in this case, short course to long course) there is some confusion about what times to enter for meets. There are many ways and formulas to convert times from yards to meters and vise versa. However, any of these will be estimates and should not be a measuring stick for success. There are so many different factors that go into a race, and every swimmer will respond differently to those factors. Therefore, swimmers should be ready to start each season by: 1) being competitive, 2) learning more about the sport of swimming, and 3) enjoying what they are doing. If this strategy is followed, then the fast times are sure to follow.

Highland Park Situation

Some of you may be scratching your heads wondering if we have officially moved out of Highland Park and in to SMU. Well hopefully this will clear up any confusion. We were originally told that Highland Park would be closing on May 1st. Then on April 27th, we were told that maybe HP would not close as scheduled. Since we could not get a firm answer on a definite closure date, we decided to implement a practice schedule with as little change as possible, so as not to confuse swimmers and parents. For the time being, we will still use H.P. occasionally for Saturday practices. Unfortunately, we are not at this time able to schedule Saturday practices weeks in advance. Those practices will be decided on a weekly basis, with the information being posted at the pools as well as on the team line (972-889-SWIM), by Wednesday of each week. On a very positive note, both the Bronze and Silver H.P. groups have occasionally had the opportunity to swim outside in the 50-meter pool, and have really seemed to enjoy it!

Loos Situation

There has been a delay in the moving of the bulkhead at Loos. Unfortunately, one of the motors that move one of the bulkheads is not working, and other means of trying to move it have failed. However, we are still trying to get it done as soon as possible.

Team Trip

We will be leaving for Shreveport, Louisiana on Friday, June 16th at 10:00 a.m. and returning on Sunday, June 18th at approximately 7:00 p.m. The meet we will be swimming at is the Damon McCoy Invitational, which is open to all age groups and all levels of swimmers (C through A). All swimmers should have received a Team Trip packet. If you have not received one and are interested in going, please ask your coach ASAP. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR MEET ENTRY, APPLICATION AND TRIP FEE SUBMITTED BY MAY 25TH. THE MEDICAL RELEASE AND CODE OF CONDUCT FORMS MUST BE SIGNED. This promises to be a very fun time so please make every effort to attend. Also, a little advice: bring plenty of sunscreen, towels, and water bottles (Shreveport tends to be quite humid so you should be prepared to drink plenty of fluids). Parents, if you are driving over you might consider bringing a tarp/sunshade if you have one and your own chairs. If you have any other questions, please address them to Mook Rhodenbaugh at 214-768-1641.

The Dallas Mustangs would like to welcome the following new swimmers to our team: Elisa Lin, Whitney Jones, Sarah Dauterman, Mike Sommerfelt, Rachel Wharton and John Woosley. Welcome to our team!

Elizabeth Rabe has been a Mustang since 1989, when she was in 2nd grade. This year Elizabeth will graduate near the top of her senior class at Bishop Lynch High School, where she has been a member of the National Honor Society. The National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association named her to the Academic All America Team. Elizabeth will be attending Hamilton College in upstate New York, where she plans to study history or political science and foreign languages.

Approximately a month ago, each swimming family should have received a Corporate Sponsorship packet from Don Haney, Fundraising Chairman. Included in the packet was a letter addressed to each family explaining the contents of the packet; a sample letter to mail to employers or other corporations, inviting them to sponsor the Dallas Mustangs; and a brochure explaining the different sponsorship levels and benefits to the sponsoring company. As a result, we have received $1200 in lane sponsorships and meet ads for our upcoming meet. If you have not yet taken advantage of the information Don sent you, please consider acting on it now. If you need more brochures or sample letters, don’t hesitate to call Don and ask for more! He can be reached at 972-818-8484(H) or 972-661-8100(W).

Swim Lessons

Remember Mook and Meredith Rhodenbaugh are available for swim lessons. If you are interested in private instruction for your swimmer, please call Mook at 214 -768-1641 or Meredith at 972-889-SWIM to set up lessons.

Stroke and Turn Judges Needed

If you are interested in training to become a Stroke and Turn official, please call Jamie Jester at 214-696-4040. The benefits are great: poolside viewing of the swimmers and endless food at the host team’s hospitality tables. Sign up now!

Thank you Volunteers!

A big thank you to all the volunteers who worked many hours in the gale-force winds at SMU during our DM Classic. We absolutely could not have run such a successful meet without all of you (and 20 rolls of duct tape to hold everything in its place…). Great job! Thanks again!

New email address

Please make a note of an email address change for the family of swimmer Spindrift Beck. Their new email address is glfr@swbell.net

TAGS Hotel Information

TAGS is once again, right around the corner. Judi Shipp, Travel Chairperson, is busy making hotel group reservations with several hotels in the Austin area. The information should be posted on the bulletin boards at the pools within the week, so please make sure to check it out. Usually the group rate reservations must be booked well in advance, so if there is any remote chance your child might be making it to TAGS, it is best to make a reservation and cancel it later if need be.

May 20th –21st B/C meet at Duncanville HS

May 20th Workouts TBA

May 25th - Team trip packet and meet information due! B/C (Waco) meet information due.

May 27th Workouts TBA

May 29th MEMORIAL DAY! WORKOUTS FOR NATIONAL GROUP ONLY 7 – 9 A.M. AT SMU

May 30th START SUMMER SCHEDULE

June 3rd – 4th A/BB meets; 12 & under at Tyler, 13 & over at UTA

June 3rd No Saturday workouts

June 8th "A" meet information due

June 9th – 11th B/C meet in Waco

June 15th B/C (GCAT) meet information due

June 16th – 18^th Team Trip to Shreveport!

June 22nd BB meet information due

June 23rd – 25^th "A" meet at Loos

July 1st – 2nd B/C meet (GCAT)

July 4th HAPPY FOURTH! WORKOUTS ONLY FOR NATIONAL GROUP (TBA)

July 8th – 9th BB meet in Tyler

July 15th – 16^th TAGS Q ("A" only) at UTA

July 22nd – 23^rd B/C Champs (GCAT & Duncanville) and BB Champs at Northlake

July 26th – 30^th TAGS in Austin

Summer Schedule

National 7-9 AM @ SMU M-F, 3:30-6:15 PM @ Loos M-T-TH-F

Gold 7-9 AM @ SMU M-F, 4-6:15 PM @ Loos M-T-TH-F

Loos Silver 6-7:30 PM @ Loos

HP Silver 5:45-7:15 PM @ SMU

Loos Bronze I & II 6:30-7:30 PM @ Loos

HP Bronze 5-6 PM @ SMU

CFB Blue 5-6 PM @ CFB

CFB Red 5-6 PM @ CFB

Please note that the Bronze and Silver practices at SMU will be treated as though they will be outside, even though they will be swimming inside (and some outside for Silver). This is due to the SMU college swimmers needing to be inside in case of bad weather.

Remember that the entire swimming schedule for our LSC is posted on the North Texas Swimming Website. It can be accessed as such or through the link "North Texas Swimming" listed under "Affiliates and Friends" on our website. Also remember to check the Dallas Mustangs swim hotline on a regular basis for updates on events and schedule changes. The number is 972-889-SWIM(7946).